The World Health Organization estimates that 27,000 cases of monkeypox may have been reported in 88 countries by August 2. According to the latest count, 17,800 cases have been reported in about 70 countries.
Meanwhile, making predictions beyond that is complicated, scientists told Archyde.com. But the spread of this virus is likely to last for months, she said.
Ann Remoin, professor of epidemiology at the University of California, Los Angeles, said the goal should be to ‘get in front of this virus.’ Rimoin added that the routes through which the virus spreads should be closed.
read also: Why was monkeypox declared a global emergency? How dangerous is the disease?
Meanwhile, World Health Organization experts were meeting to determine whether the virus outbreak would constitute a global emergency. But despite the majority of committee members voting against the move, WHO Director-General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus declared a state of emergency.
In this situation, health experts have clarified that urgent measures should be followed including vaccination, testing, quarantine of infected persons and contact tracing.
But Jimmy Whitworth, a professor at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, says cases won’t drop for the next four to six months, or until those most at risk of infection either get vaccinated or become ill.
Sexual health organizations in the UK recently estimated that around 125,000 people are at risk of contracting the virus.
Monkeypox has been a globally neglected public health problem for decades and has been endemic in parts of Africa. But it spread to other countries by May. Symptoms of monkeypox include fever, fatigue, and painful skin lesions. These symptoms will resolve within a few weeks. Five people have died so far due to the spread of the monkeypox virus. All the deaths were reported in Africa.
Monkey fever is mainly spread by men who have sex with men. Scientists say the current spread of the virus may lead to mutations that make the virus more efficient. Mutations were found in one of 47 cases studied, and monkeypox spreads more easily in people, according to a study released recently by German scientists.
Read the most reliable news, live information, world, national, Bollywood, sports, business, health and lifestyle news on News18 Malayalam website.